We are finally back from the States and getting settled into our house again in South Africa. Today we officially start back to work and I'm anxious to visit the children in Phokeng and see our caregivers, Martha and Agnes. Three months is a long time to be away.
Our trip to the States was wonderful. Before we left, God clearly spoke to us about why we were going. He made it clear that during our speaking engagements our focus was not to be on raising funds but to be a testimony of what the Lord is doing in this nation and amongst these people. He wanted us to challenge others to get involved in what He is doing in their own communities and the world around them. During our first church service, the worship leader had chosen only music with a missions or evangelism focus. Derek and I found ourselves crying through the whole thing. From that first Sunday, God began to refresh our hearts and remind of us why we do what we do. During the message that Sunday we saw the footage of our video, which we had prepared in advance for the services, but we saw it through the eyes of the congregation and were caught off guard at the emotion that overwhelmed us. This is a sad place at times and there is heartache all around us, but God is so amazing and the work that He has done here and is continuing to do is awesome. We are humbled to be a small part of it.
The second reason for our trip was to bring us rest and refreshing and to bless us with experiences outside our normal, everyday life. I, Rebecca, wanted two things for my children during this trip. To play in the snow and to go to Disney World. While visiting a group of supporters in Colorado we saw beautiful falling snow. A full 8-10 inches of it! It was amazing for me. The kids got to go sledding and build a snowman in our friends' backyard. A few weeks later it snowed in my hometown of Katy, Texas. For those of you from Katy, you know how rare this is and it was another experience God used to bring joy to my heart. For Christmas, my parents took my family and my sister's family to Disney World. Wow! What an incredible experience for all of us. Derek and I had the most amazing time watching our children react to all they saw and did. We didn't tell them where we were going until we approached the entrance to the park and they were thrilled! It says a lot about how much we traveled during our visit, when you have a 7,5, and 2 year old in the car for 16 hours with a one night stay in a hotel and no one asks "where are we going?". Until we visited the Magic Kingdom, my kids didn't know that the castle was actually a real place. Enchanted doesn't begin to describe them!
Lord, I am so grateful to You. I am so grateful for each service and speaking engagement we had. We know from the feedback from each that You were glorified and that hearts were touched and hopefully challenged as well. Thank you for giving us that opportunity. And thank you so much for the rest you brought us. Thank you for the time away from our everyday lives and the many joys we experienced with our family and friends.
When I woke up the morning of our flights the first thought I had was of the security systems here in South Africa and the bars on my doors and windows. I thought, "Oh Lord, here we go. Am I ready for this again?". Then when we left the airport to drive back to our house in Rustenburg, all the challenges of everyday life started coming back full force. Malachi starts first grade at a new school on Wednesday. I need to start getting the orphans ready for school next week. We have a new Discipleship school starting in March. Derek needs to start visiting the pastors who will take part in the audio training programs. I need to start up the Bible studies in Rustenburg and Phokeng in a couple of weeks. Overwhelmed can become the everyday experience if we let it. Father, I pray that we will be overwhelmed by nothing but You. Please help us to keep You first in our sights. Your word says that if we seek You and Your Kingdom first, that all things will be added to us. Let that be our motivation in all things.
We want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. Thank you for your prayers for us and this nation. We are so excited to see what God has planned for the year ahead!
